The Pretoria high court on Wednesday sentenced a man from Ekangala to life imprisonment for killing his one-year-old nephew as a “satanic sacrifice”. 

Sipho Vincent Maseko, 37, admitted premeditated murder and said he sacrificed his nephew to get money.

He told the court “he was not himself” that day  as the devil had taken over him.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Maseko strangled the child with a rope, jumped on his chest several times and poured boiling water on his face.

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the child, Nkazimulo Theodore Penga, and his mother lived at the mother's parental home. 

She said on September 30 2020, a day before Penga turned a year old, Maseko visited the home, where the child was left with the helper as the mother had gone to work.

“He sent the helper to the shop to buy airtime. While the helper was out, Maseko strangled the child with a rope, jumped on his chest several times, poured boiling water on his face and ran to hide in the bushes. When the helper returned from the shop, she found the lifeless child tucked in the bed covers.

“After a few hours of hiding, Maseko called his family. When he heard the commotion of the community over the phone, he went to the police and handed himself over and has been in custody since,” Mahanjana said.

In his plea, Maseko told the court that he had tried to kill his nephew two weeks before the incident by smothering him with his hand. The boy survived because he cried out.

As a result of the first attempt, the child was permanently disabled.

During the sentencing proceedings, prosecutor Andre Wilsenach read into the record the victim impact statement in which the mother described her brother as a monster and the devil himself, and told the court the incident had left her emotionally damaged.

“She went through a phase of drinking to try to numb the pain which resulted in her miscarrying because of stress, and the inability to sleep. The mother, who now has a four-month-old baby, said she fears that what happened to her son could happen again,” Mahanjana said.

In aggravation, Wilsenach told the court that Maseko did not show true remorse and had never apologised to the family for what he did.

“He sacrificed the child because he wanted fortune and was motivated by greed,” Wilsenach said. He asked the court to impose a “just sentence” — life imprisonment.

Judge Mashudu Munzhelele, agreed, saying Maseko was motivated by greed, and instead of taking responsibility, he shifted the blame to the devil.

Munzhelele found no reason to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence and said she hoped the sentence would educate the public about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable people.

Mahanjana said the court ordered that Maseko be declared unfit to possess a firearm and that the police should conduct a search and seizure of firearms at his home.

It further ordered that the mother of the deceased be informed should Maseko become eligible for parole so she could make representations.

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